J's older daughter is graduating from college this May. I've already started thinking about a present (simply because I have nothing else to do... Aww... come on... you know what it's like - you have SO much that you focus on the minutia... like I have to explain that!) and am not really coming up with anything...
So, in the midst of my not coming up with anything - I came up with something.
Gift certificates.
I'm thinking like $150-200 worth of gift certificates.
I figure $100 at Banana Republic. $50 at a shoes place (Aerosoles, 9 West..), $25 Jamba Juice and $25 Barnes & Noble or Borders.
So - the all important question my bloggy friends: What do you think? Is this a cop out? Should I get her a gift? Should I put the whole amount into one thing? Should I split it up into more...?
You see... this is what I do when the sheets aren't on my bed & I'm exhausted & am tossing around the idea of just sleeping on the mattress, and when my older son is late with his science project (it was due last Friday & I totally forgot), and I have piles of papers here to put away, and mail to go through, and taxes to mail out, and checks to write, and dishes to wash, and clothes to put away - that have been sitting in a pile at the foot of my bed for a week, and toothpaste to clean off the sink, and towels to pick up off the bathroom floor....
So? What do you think? And is $200 enough? (I'd actually prefer $150... but I really feel like that might not be enough? I don't know - everything's so inflated nowadays....)
April 1st
7 months ago
Posts
7 comments:
Dude, I don't know. What does her father say? Or are you trying to woo and surprise him with your supreme thoughtfulness?
You could always go with cash, too. I hear the young un's like that as well.
Gift certificates are great. That way she can get what she wants. But go for like American Express ones, they are more universal and she isn't limited to where she can use them.
If she has an i-pod, an i tunes gift card is a good idea
I wouldn't know how much is appropriate...and I'm also not sure about giving specific gift cards. I mean, she's not really going to find shoes at Nine West for $50, and then it'll just end up costing her more, you know? I agree with libragirl, get her either a general gift card to a mall, or a cash card.
I wouldn't give cash, though. I just find you end up spending cash on little bitty things, like today's coffee and tomorrow's paper. You don't really buy anything 'special' for yourself, kwim?
Good luck. I'm sure whatever you decide will be great!
Heidi
I'm a grown-up and I've never gotten more than $100 on a gift certificate, so $200 would WOW me!
I agree with Libra girl.
I got a general cash gift card at Christmas that referenced my alma mater.
I bet you can do that and it's very useful.
When I graduated lo those many years ago, I appreciated: phone card, monogrammed brief case, money, things to stock apartment, etc.
GL!
$200 is a nice gift. I don't believe it is too much from her future Mom. Yep!!!! Future Mom!
I like the variety of certificates. She will love it.
While I'm not normally a huge fan of gift certificates for "big" occasions, I actually think your variety of places would work -- it would amount to a nice day of shopping for her!You can wrap them up nicely or put them in a big box or something clever...
For my 40th birthday, a friend of mine got me a $25 gift certificate for B&N, a $10 Jamba Juice card and a $5 card for Crumbs... all my favorite things that added up to 40. I loved it, and I'm sure J's daughter would very much appreciate your idea.
If you decide to go with a gift, or don't want to spend $200, I think a nice watch is a good gift (and you can get a nice one for around $100 -- somehow you can always find a gift that feels like it cost more than what you'd spend on gift certificates). Either way, I'm sure she'll love it, and it's very thoughtful of you.
I agree that $200 is more than generous and really really nice. If you go with a gift certificate it should just be one place so she doesn't have to run around. Banana is good but if she's in NYC like you a couple of Jcrew stores offer a FREE personal shopping service, might be a nice addition to that cash.
Here are a few ideas if you change your mind on the gift certificate...
Sephora is a good place as well, you could get either gift certificate or but a travel cosmetic/toiletry set and stock it with goodies or the little samples they have. You're so poor when you first graduate, it's nice to have a few nice things.
Coach, though a bit conservative, is always popular with the college ladies. For $100 you can buy a nice wristlet and if she doesn't like it she can exchange it and get something without having to fork over extra cash.
My MIL bought me a fancy (and sexy) bathrobe when I graduated college, along with an underwear drawer scented thing-y. It seems dumb, but it was a really nice "you're a grown up woman" type gift. The first grown up thing I owned. Though something tells me J might not like you buying his daughter La Perla :)
Finally, jewelery is always nice. You could take her to Michal Negrin or some other store and have her pick something out?
Finally, how about a year of Netflix??
Good luck! I agree it's way more fun to think about this stuff.
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